The Pretender

Agatha Cunnington, headstrong beauty from the country, has come to London in search of her missing brother James. The only clue she has is a cryptic letter signed “The Griffin.” Agatha decides to disguise herself as a respectable married woman so that she can go about the city unnoticed. But for her charade to work she needs a suitable “husband,” preferably someone tall, elegant and rakish–Someone like Simon Rain.

He had a secret he’d do anything to hide.

Simon Rain is a member of the Liar’s Club, a renegade group of rogues and thieves in the service of the Crown. When someone begins murdering members of the undercover cabal one by one, Simon is given the mission to bring in James Cunnington, one of his comrades who is suspected of betraying his brothers.

Simon goes undercover and infiltrates the home of “Mrs.” Agatha Applequist–who he believes is James’s mistress. Before Simon knows what’s happened, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to Agatha’s soft, feminine charms–and he is tempted beyond reason to break the first rule of the Liar’s Club: Never fall in love.

Read the reviews!

“Funny and touching…totally entertaining.” — Julia Quinn, New York Times bestselling author

“Bursting with adventure and sizzling passion to satisfy the most daring reader, The Pretender will have readers hooked on this strong new voice in the genre. Bradley certainly knows how to combine engaging characters with excitement, sensuality and a strong plot.” — RT Book Reviews (top pick)

I love Pygmalion stories. My original intent was to write a sweet sexy novel, Educating Agatha, about a woman who must educate a ragged chimneysweep to pose as her husband. Then Simon began to take on a mysterious life of his own, becoming something altogether more sexy and interesting. A charismatic rule-breaker like that had to come from someplace, didn’t he? So the Liar’s Club was born.

As the story began to gain flesh and bone, the Liars became a forceful voice of their own. The secondary characters that populate The Pretender–Kurt, Pearson, Button, among others–have generated reader mail of their very own. Imagine—fan mail for the butler!